Oregon gov. approves Clackamas County phase 1 reopening

It will be the first of the state’s three most populous counties in the Portland metro area to start reopening restaurants, gyms, salons and bars with safety measures on Saturday, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

Gathering sizes are still limited to 25 people but the governor’s guidelines do allow malls, such as the Clackamas Town Center, to reopen if they can follow retail guidelines. That leaves Multnomah and Washington counties as the only counties not yet approved to begin reopening. Washington County applied Friday and is targeting a June 1 reopening date, while Multnomah County has yet to apply and is taking a more deliberative approach because of its size, population density and diversity.

The governor’s office said Friday that Clackamas County has met Oregon’s safety and preparedness prerequisites for reopening. But according to the county’s reopening dashboard, that is not the case. The governor has approved a variety of counties reopening plans that don’t strictly meet her prerequisites.

Some elected officials in Clackamas County, such as the mayors of Oregon City and Estacada, have been loudly complaining about the shutdown of their businesses.

At least 147 people in Oregon have died from the coronavirus and 3,770 people in Oregon have tested positive for the disease. The virus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most patients, and the vast majority recover. But it is highly contagious and can cause severe illness and death in some patients, particularly the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.